Forget Me Not
by SweetTortuga
Summary: When Harry returns to his godfather's house five years later he discovers a hidden treasure left by someone unexpected.
1. Chapter 1

Forget Me Not

~Chapter 1: The Discovery~

The night sky overhead was gloomy as the shimmery moonlight radiated an eerie glow that sent chills rolling down Harry's spine as it illuminated the abandoned house before him. As he looked up to the once familiar and welcoming house at 12 Grimmauld Place. After years of neglect the house now appeared old and sickly in desperate need of attention. The shabby house looked frightfully miserable with its shattered windows and worn paint. It had been five years since he last set foot inside the house; he had done everything to avoid going back.

The last few years he had been living with the Weasleys. Ron had long since moved out and married Hermione. Harry often thought about their time at Hogwarts and the adventures they had once eagerly went in search after. Now those days are long gone and although he should be moving forward in life, Harry found himself trapped in the glory days of his youth, an undesirable position of sanity. Harry did enjoy the company that came from living with the Weasleys, he feared that he had over stayed his welcome. He also felt that he owed it to Ginny to get their own place. It had not been easy for her to live the married life in her parent's home. So Harry reluctantly agreed to move to his late godfather's house. After all, he had left it to him in his will.

Harry took a deep breath before walking up to the front door. As he unlocked the door he half expected to see Sirius standing on the other side waiting patiently for his return. He pushed the old rusty door and it let out a low creaky noise. Harry set foot into the front room, slowly entering the house. Memories flooded his mind as he stood there surveying the foreground. Dust flooded the air as he explored the rest of the house. Each room presented its own memory. As he turned down the hall on the first floor he came across the set of stairs leading to the second floor. Harry began climbing the stairs up keeping one hand on the railing. As he reached the top he saw a flicker of light come from one of the rooms.

Harry walked farther down the hall, he wasn't quite sure if he had actually saw a light come from one of the rooms or if he had just imagined the whole thing. The house was just as dark as outside, Harry brought out his wand and said, "Lumos." A beam of light shone from the end of his wand like a flashlight through the darkness. Harry came across a room that he had not seen before, in which boxes were stacked in a disorderly manner in the back corner of the room, as if they had been shoved in a hurry. _Great_ thought Harry, _more to sort through. _

As Harry walked further into the room he was overwhelmed with the smell of burnt flowers. _That's odd, _he thought as he approached the boxes which seemed to be the source of the scent. Harry stared down at the disarray of boxes, _where to begin?_ There was one box that stood out to him, although it was cornered and hidden behind the rest there seemed to be a glow from within. He curiously picked up the small box he was startled to find that it had weighed slightly more than he had expected. Harry began mindlessly shuffling through its contents but didn't immediately find anything too particular. He put his hand in the box and grabbed a handful of glossy paper he recognized as photographs. There were a mixture of Muggle and Wizard photos within the contents of the box, most of them burnt.

At first glance he only saw figures of men and women in both Wizard cloaks and Muggle clothing. In the first photograph he viewed there was a young girl smiling with her arm laced with a dark mysterious figure. Harry couldn't make out the person she was with due to the singes made by the apparent fire. In a second photo he closely examined the same child in a typical Muggle family portrait, a man and a woman grinning with one hand on the outside shoulder of each of their two young girls in front of them.

In another photo as with all wizard pictures, the people within moved about as if they were still living in that particular moment. When he spotted a young couple cradling a newborn he stopped and focused on the small family. He knew these people, he would recognize them anywhere. They were his parents holding him. Harry sat staring at the young couple move their eyes from the child to each other as if in amazement that this small creature now in their arms comes from a part of them.

In a dash Harry dove into the rest of the contents of the dusty box. Each picture revealing more of the life he had at one time shared with his parents. As Harry searched through the remaining contents of the box he found a black journal with silver pages. When the moonlight hit it the glimmer seemed to fill the darkness that had engulfed the house. _This must have been what I had seen_, thought Harry.

Harry sat baffled, how long had Sirius have these belongings and why had he never given them to Harry? The masculine journal lay in his hands as he sat staring wondering what he should do next. "_Could this journal have been his father's?"_ Harry wondered aloud. Unless it belonged to Sirius, but why would it be here along with his parents intimate photos? He needed answers. Harry summoned Kreacher, the house-elf left to him as well in his godfather's will. Immediately after he heard the crack of Kreacher's Apparition Harry began to question him, demanding answers.

"Do you know why Sirius had these?" asked Harry.

"Sirius Black kept them for you, Harry Potter." Kreacher replied.

"How did he get them? Everything else was lost."

"The night your parents were killed Sirius had rushed to gather you, after all you were all he had left of his best friends. Dumbledore had other plans for you. When he was denied guardianship he decided to gather what was left of your parents belongings." Explained Kreacher.

"If he gathered these for me why hadn't he given them to me? Why were they hidden in here?"

"He wanted to give them to you. He tried many times but it was never the right moment. He planned to give them to you the summer when you could live with him; however he died before he had the chance."

"Whose journal is this?" Harry lifted the black book.

"That, Harry Potter, is something you'll have to discover for yourself." And with that Kreacher vanished.


	2. Chapter 2

~Chapter 2: The Opening~

After several hours of debating Harry decided to read the journal, after all, there was only one way to figure out who the book belonged to. If it had belonged to his father or even Sirius he would only gain insight into who they were. Even after all these years Harry still longed to know his father, and what better way than to get into his mind and read his thoughts. Harry held the journal tightly within his grasp. He took a deep breath, he was ready.

As Harry lifted the cover he heard a soft voice faintly as if far off in the distance. To his surprise the voice was feminine and soothing, one he had heard before, his mother's. _"This diary belongs to Lily Evans; this is no ordinary journal." _Without warning there was a blinding light that beamed from the silvery pages of the journal. Harry felt as though a force surrounded him and pushed him from every direction, his world went dark. Harry seemed to leave his body behind and before he could question what was happening he lost consciousness.

When Harry came to the first thing he recognized was his mother's voice. He seemed to be between worlds because as he looked around there was nothing but space. As his mother's voice was heard her words seemed to hit him and fill him with a warmth that could not be described.

_My name is Lily Evans; this is no ordinary journal. It was a gift made by a dear friend. It hold my memories and helps me preserve the truth of my life as I see it through the power of magic. This is a one of a kind Pensive. Although it may not be fairy tale perfect this is my story. Enter with an open mind and open heart._


	3. Chapter 3

~Chapter 3: The First Encounter~

_I've chosen a selected number of memories to share. The first is from my childhood, one I will treasure always._

In a flash Harry was standing in the middle of a bedroom. He was in his mother's memory now. Before he had a chance to process all that was going on the door to the room swung open. There standing before him was a lovely young girl who seemed to radiate sunshine. Could this be his mother? She seemed so graceful and serene. For the first time Harry looked around and saw he was obviously in a girl's room. The walls had floral printed wallpaper that made the room feel airy and inviting. The bed was neatly made in a white fluffy comforter and light pink pillows. The furniture was all made of wood with a light coat of varnish.

"There you are, Lily" the girl seemed to have spotted him.

"I thought you'd never find me, I've been hiding here the entire time!"

Harry spun around and there, crawling from under the bed, was a younger child with magnificent green eyes. This was his mother there, was not a doubt in his mind.

"Let's go play at the park, Petunia. I'm tired of being indoors all day."

That was his Aunt Petunia? How she had changed over the years. He never would have recognized this lovely young girl for the cranky woman he grew up with.

"Okay, Lily. Race you to the swings!"

The two girls sped out the room and down the street to a familiar park Harry had seen before. As he stood scanning the area he saw a young boy off to the side just staring at the two girls and it hit him. This was the same memory Snape had.

At this moment Petunia had spotted Snape and wanted to leave but Lily just wanted to make a new friend. Lily ran up to Snape and grabbed his arm before her sister could drag her away, she leaned in and whispered into his ear leaving him speechless and paralyzed. As the girls left to go home Harry heard his mother's voice again.

_This is my first memory of Severus. He was a quiet boy, seemed shy and lonely. My sister Petunia never understood him, she never gave him a chance. She always made it known how disgusting she thought he was but he was anything but. He was always kind to me and I to him. This was the start of a friendship that would impact the rest of my life, he taught me so much about the magical world and helped me to hone my abilities. I always thought we'd grow up and be in our rocking chairs sharing life stories. He was my best friend. _


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Bittersweet~

The next memory Harry traveled to was bittersweet. It was his mother's first farewell to her parents and trip to Hogwarts.

Trying not to trip over the new robes she boarded the Hogwarts Express in excitement following the only person she knew. Harry watched as she peered out the window waving enthusiastically to the obvious pair of Muggles in the crowd, easily spotted next to her mum and dad hid Aunt Petunia, looking as though she wished she were anywhere but the platform. Surprisingly, finding an empty compartment wasn't too difficult. Staying close to the only connection to the magical world, she positioned herself across from Snape.

"Can you believe we're sitting in the Hogwarts Express, Severus? Did you think this day would ever come?"

"Calm down, Lily," chuckled Severus Snape. "Relax Lily, sit down. We'll be leaving soon."

"I do wish Petunia could have shared in this experience. Don't you?

"Petunia? Really? I'd rather sit on a needle."

"Why can't you two get along? I really wish you did."

The train begun to slowly pull away and the tears began to swell in Lily's eyes as she watched her parents slowly shrink away. Without a word Severus grabbed my hand and pulled her closer. Although we had been looking forward to Hogwarts, he understood that this was her first time apart from my parents and I was headed to an entirely different culture.

"Do you remember the first thing you said to me?" asked Severus.

"What?"

"You told me we were going to be the best of friends. I want you to know that I will always be here for you. You can always come to me for anything."

"Thank you, Severus."

_Severus did everything he could to help my parents and I stay in contact. The summer before Severus had taught my parents all about the owl system and he had signed them up for a subscription to the local wizard newspaper, Daily Prophet, so they could keep updated. While we were at school he made every attempt to walk me to classes and introduce me to new people, mainly from the Slitherin house, but at least I was able to make new friends. I think Severus was upset that I had been sorted into Gryffindor but I loved everyone. _


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Secret Wishes~

_The summer of our Third Year at Hogwarts was the best summer I had ever had. That year we decided that staying in the neighborhood was overrated. We took long walks to the creek where we'd watch the fireflies light up the night sky. Those nights seemed to be magical. That was the night Severus had given me this journal. He had so much talent at such a young age, I knew he would be a powerful wizard._

Harry sat at the edge of a boulder looking down at his mother and Snape. Together they had seemed blissful and he realized that she brought out a side in Snape he had never been shown. It was odd for Harry to think of Snape as anything other than a cold ruthless Professor. His mother seemed happiest when she was around him but he had to wonder if she was in love with his father yet. Why had he only seen memories of Snape and not his father?

Lily was dancing in the moonlight as Snape sat laughing at her silliness when he stood up and walked away. At first Harry thought he left her there alone but when she just stood there waiting he knew she wasn't worried.

Snape appeared with a small package that appeared to have been wrapped by a child but Lily just clutched her hands in awe and said, "_For me?"_

"Of course its for you, who else is out here?"

Lily bounced over to him and gently reached out for the gift.

"What is it?"

"Open it."

As Lily unwrapped the silver paper, she discovered the same black journal with silver pages as Harry had found in the box.

"It's a Pensive Diary. I invented it myself. It's the same as a Pensive only you can write your thoughts along with the memories you choose to save."

"This is the best gift I have ever received, thank you."

Lily leapt into his arms and gave him a huge hug.

"Well its time to walk back now, I don't want to get in too late, you know how my father gets." Snape replied.


	6. Chapter 6

~Chapter 6: Fall Out~

_Severus had always been my best friend since the first day we met. That much was true, however, during our Fifth Year at Hogwarts things changed. _

Standing in the courtyard Harry could see his mother waiting, impatiently. Out of the bushes emerged a tall lanky boy with greasy hair. Startled Lily jumped, then immediately began to beg her friend to listen.

"Is it ture?"

"Is what true, Lily?"

"Are you joining in the ranks of Lord Voldemort?"

Harry saw the look in his eyes as if he were a child being caught by his mother. He didn't say one word just simply turned his back from her.

"Severus, please, I've asked you a million times if not more to quit practicing the Dark need to get away from those people."

"This is who I am now. This is what I am good at, why can't you accept this Lily? They can." Pleaded Snape.

"But it doesn't have to be. Please come with me, hang out with James and the boys. You'll like them, I promise."

"They hate me, Lily. Especially that vile James Potter! He practices his "magic" by humiliating me while you idly stand by and watch. Why can't we just have each other, like the old days?"

"Why can't we grow together? And make new friends branch out."

"I have friends, Lily. Just not the kind you like. Fine. Then I'll say goodbye. Let you live out your fantasy world with that pompous idiot James Potter."

"Don't do this Severus."

"Move out of my way you filthy MUDBLOOD!"

The scene went black and then he heard his mother's voice again. It sounded as though she were crying when she spoke.

_Severus was lost from me. I couldn't reach him anymore. That day was the darkest I have seen yet. I would do anything to get him back. I loved him. After that school year it seemed as though life would never be the same. James had been the one to pull me from my self destruction and brought a new spark into my life. He has asked me to marry him and I think back to the days when my fantasies of getting married to Severus were the only images I had. What a silly child I was. _


End file.
